City Financed Record Number of New Affordable Homes Last Year, With Majority Benefitting From Expired 421-a Affordable Housing Tax Incentive
80 Percent Increase in Financing for New Construction and Preservation of Affordable Homes From 2022
City Also Set Record in 2023 for Most New Supportive Homes and Homes for Formerly Homeless New Yorkers
As New Yorkers Continue to Struggle With High Rents, City Needs Tools From Albany to Build Homes for New Yorkers
New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that his administration has once again broken records for producing much-needed affordable housing amid a severe housing shortage in the five boroughs. As private construction activity slows following the expiration of a critical affordable housing creation tool, Mayor Adams reiterated an urgent call for state lawmakers in Albany to partner with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and provide the city with critical tools — including a new affordable housing tax incentive, a pathway to make basement and cellar apartments safe and legal, a tax incentive to turn empty office buildings into affordable homes, and the lifting of a cap on density for new construction — to create the new housing New Yorkers need.
“When we came into office two years ago, we had a mission: protect public safety, revitalize the economy, and make this city more livable for hardworking New Yorkers, and making our city more livable means building more affordable housing for more people,” said Mayor Adams. “We are proud of our administration’s progress building a record number of affordable homes last year, but New York City cannot solve this affordable housing crisis alone. We are grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership on this issue and are optimistic that with the support of labor, industry, and lawmakers across the state, we can help ease the pain New Yorkers are feeling every day as we continue to make real progress against this crisis.”
“Making good on our administration’s promise to increase affordable housing and tackle the city’s housing crisis once and for all, we accomplished record housing production for the last calendar year,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “I congratulate HPD and HDC on financing historic numbers of newly created housing, including record amounts for homeless New Yorkers and those in need of supportive services, and look forward to working with our state colleagues to unlock more housing to reach our need of creating 500,000 new homes in the next decade.”
“Each record number we report and celebrate today is an investment in our future — representing new, safe, affordable homes where New Yorkers will be able to live out their lives and pursue their aspirations in the greatest city in the world.” said New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “I am proud of our agency staff and our partners at HDC for their tireless work to produce so many homes across the five boroughs. Now, more than ever, we need our state partners in Albany to lean in and help us do even more to address this housing crisis and keep our city competitive.”
“Last year’s record-breaking production numbers reflect this administration’s tireless commitment to expanding our city’s affordable housing supply,” said New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin. “While we continue to make strides towards building new supply and preserving our existing affordable and public housing stock, more must be done to tackle the growing housing crisis. It is crucial that we receive the federal resources needed to effectively meet the urgent housing needs of New Yorkers.”
HPD also directly connected more New Yorkers to homes than ever before, bringing nearly 13,000 households into affordable units this calendar year. Nearly 10,000 of those connections were through Housing Connect lotteries and 3,000 households left shelter to move into HPD homeless set aside units, an increase of more than 30 percent from 2022 to 2023. Late last year, the administration announced that permanent housing placements from shelter using CityFHEPS vouchers increased 10 percent during the first three months of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) compared to the first three months of FY23.
Overall, HPD and HDC financed a total 27,911 units in calendar year 2023 through new construction and preservation deals, and increase of 80 percent from 2022, fueled by a 47 percent increase in the financing of new affordable homes. The Adams administration additionally continued to prioritize new homes for the most vulnerable New Yorkers — setting records by creating 3,926 new homes for New Yorkers who formerly experienced homelessness and 1,670 new supportive homes with restricted rents and social services.
To accelerate housing production and deliver relief to New Yorkers, the Adams administration has advanced a number of creative solutions, including an office conversation accelerator, new proposed rules to streamline approvals for sustainable housing, a “Housing-at-Risk Task Force,” and several pilot programs to help fund the creation of accessory dwelling units, help move New Yorkers out of shelters and into renovated apartments, and fuel mixed-income development in neighborhoods across the city, among other innovative efforts.
Lifting the city’s impressive 2023 numbers are major development projects closed by the Adams administration over the last year, including new housing projects at Willets Point, the JFK Hilton Hotel Conversion, The Peninsula in Hunts Point, and more. The administration also advanced several robust neighborhood planning efforts to deliver more housing and economic opportunities and investments to Central Brooklyn, Midtown South, South Richmond, Long Island City, Jamaica, and the Metro North station area in the Bronx, among others.
The city’s accelerated new housing production in 2023 stands in contrast to the private housing market where construction slowed, driven in part by the loss of the 421-a incentive program and the absence of action in Albany to replace it. According to the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) Housing Database, new unit permits dropped by approximately 84 percent between the first six months of 2023 and the first six months of 2022.
“Affordable housing continues to be an absolutely critical resource for New Yorkers,” said New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “NYCHA extends its appreciation and ongoing support of the Adams administration's continued dedication to the preservation and creation of new affordable housing in New York City.”
“This administration continues to do everything in its power to deliver the housing that New Yorkers need, from financing income-restricted affordable housing to advancing zoning changes and streamlining environmental review for much-needed housing,” said DCP Chair and City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick. “We need action from our partners in Albany to pass comprehensive housing policy that supports housing opportunity in New York and across the state.”
“The New York City Department of Buildings is making it easier than ever to build in our city by removing outdated regulations and streamlining the development process, but without legislation from our partners in Albany, private developers will not build the houses we need in the numbers we need them,” said New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Jimmy Oddo. “The simple fact of the matter is greater flexibility and incentives will help jumpstart housing production across the state.”
“Creating new, affordable, stable housing opportunities across our neighborhoods and preserving the affordability of homes that our fellow New Yorkers live in are critical steps to ensuring our city remains a diverse and thriving place to call home,” said New York City Executive Director for Housing Leila Bozorg. “I’m proud of the hustle and commitment that our housing agencies — with partners across the public and private sectors — have demonstrated through these numbers; each becoming a home that not only chips away at our housing supply and affordability challenges, but that serves as a platform for greater security for our neighbors.”
The administration’s record-breaking production numbers also show New York City’s resilience in the face of difficult trends slowing the creation of new multifamily housing throughout the city and the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, new construction of multifamily housing from January to October 2023 decreased 34 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
As Mayor Adams has continued his advocacy for Albany to give New York City the tools it needs, he has committed $24 billion to affordable housing — the most in New York City’s history — and taken significant steps towards the “moonshot” goal of his “Get Stuff Built” plan to meet the need for 500,000 new homes over the next decade. Mayor Adams has also proposed the most pro-housing changes in the history of the city’s zoning code through his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” plan to create “a little more housing in every neighborhood” of the city.
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